Substance Use Disorders in Forcibly Displaced Populations

Globally, only one in five people with substance use disorders (SUD) are receiving treatment, which is largely due to stigma, policy, and lack of infrastructure. Forced migrant populations experience extreme mental and physical stress, trauma, abuses, and human rights violations, and subsequently have high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression. These situations can worsen or trigger pre-existing mental health disorders, and SUD. Refugee populations in humanitarian settings remain vulnerable to SUD, yet they often go unaddressed and are trumped by larger issues including psychosocial distress, availability of substances, duration of displacement, competing priorities within the political realm, and stigmatization. This webinar will review current data on refugee mental health and SUD and present a relevant case. The aim is to exemplify the importance of understanding SUD in forcibly displaced persons and discuss its importance to public health practitioners. Join NNLM and 2 guest speakers from Yale University.

Course URL: https://www.nnlm.gov/training/class-catalog/substance-use-disorders-webinar-series

Learning Objectives:

• Convey importance of understanding and addressing substance use disorders (SUD) among forcibly displaced persons (FDP)
• Review of evidence of SUD in humanitarian settings
• Discuss current research of SUD in humanitarian settings
• Future directions, recommendations and impact of current global war.

Agenda: 

Each session will be 60 minutes and will include:

An introduction to the NNLM.
Guest speaker content

MLA CE Credits: 1